Larry Tanenbaum's bankers. Likely interest free or at some nominal rate. In exchange for handling JV's business going forward. Also, as a favour to ol' Larry. That's how stuff like this usually works. I suspect other firms would also be happy to lend $1.9m to a person who is guaranteed, what, like $10mm dollars over the next 4 years? More? This isn't like lending money to 19-year old making $7/hour.

That would look sick on a billboard. A huge Raptors billboard with JV, our pick(PJ3, Barnes or MKG), DeMar, and Andrea and then in huge letters it says "The Future is Now..." You gotta admit that would be epic

wow you guys expect from JV way too much. i seen almost every game he played in LT national team and LRytas team. JV is not that good yet. he litterally got destroyed by Zalgiris centers (Javtokas and Rakovic) in LKL finals. Zalgiris completely dominated the board the whole series.

and that Bryan Colangelo interview was the funniest thing i heard in a long time - noone is praising Valanciunas in Lithuania. we see his potential - but we don't even expect him to contribute much to our national team in this year Olympics (if ofc we get there). he will probably get to play up to 10 minutes - not more - he is just not good enough yet. the only reason why JV had some highlights in last year European Championship - is that Sarunas Jasikevicius is an amazing point guard that can make any center look good. BTW some of us don't even think that JV deserves a place in national team this year - there are better and more expierenced players right now. the only reason why he will be in the team - it's the "potential" - too bad that "potential" doesn't win championships.

And you guys expect him to carry Raptors in the first year. I would say give him 2-4 years and he'll start putting decent numbers up - but i wouldn't bet on him being a STAR at all. For example, Darko Milicic at the same age was a far better player than JV is now. and look where Milicic is now.

Please guys HOLD YOUR HORSES - this is not Lebron James coming to your team. a big disappointment is very possible. but i do hope that JV succeeds in becoming a great player.

BTW that buy-out thing is very troublesome right now - this deal might not even happen. BC LRytas is in financial crisis right now - so they are looking to get every single possible penny out this JV deal - it's gonna be costly for the young player - if you take this money out of his contract - he will not have any left to live on. LRytas doesn't care at all about helping JV. keep that in mind

wow you guys expect from JV way too much. i seen almost every game he played in LT national team and LRytas team. JV is not that good yet. he litterally got destroyed by Zalgiris centers (Javtokas and Rakovic) in LKL finals. Zalgiris completely dominated the board the whole series.

and that Bryan Colangelo interview was the funniest thing i heard in a long time - noone is praising Valanciunas in Lithuania. we see his potential - but we don't even expect him to contribute much to our national team in this year Olympics (if ofc we get there). he will probably get to play up to 10 minutes - not more - he is just not good enough yet.

And you guys expect him to carry Raptors in the first year. I would say give him 2-4 years and he'll start putting decent numbers up - but i wouldn't bet on him being a STAR at all. For example, Darko Milicic at the same age was a far better player than JV is now. and look where Milicic is now.

Please guys HOLD YOUR HORSES - this is not Lebron James coming to your team. a big disappointment is very possible. but i do hope that JV succeeds in becoming a great player.

BTW that buy-out thing is very troublesome right now - this deal might not even happen. BC LRytas is in financial crisis right now - so they are looking to get every single possible penny out this JV deal - it's gonna be costly for the young player - if you take this money out of his contract - he will not have any left to live on. LRytas doesn't care at all about helping JV. keep that in mind

The buyout is already determined, there is a set amount and that will not, nor has, changed. I don't think there is one Raptor fan that thinks JV is going to come in and put up 20 and 10 playing 35 minutes a night. I think getting 20 plus minutes and working on consistency is what we all expect.

As for you assessment of his skills and potential, to say he is not that good yet confuses me.

On December 27, 2011 Jonas Valančiūnas was named Lithuania Basketball Player Of The Year.
On February 13, 2012 Jonas Valančiūnas was named FIBA European Young Player of the Year. He also became that month's MVP in the VTB United League.
On March 3, 2012, Valančiūnas participated in the LKL All-Star game. He led his team to victory, scoring 25 points including one three-pointer, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists. He won the MVP award once again.
In April, Valančiūnas won the Eurocup Rising Star award and was named in the All-Eurocup squad. He averaged 10.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg and 1.6 bpg while shooting 63.4% from the field, leading Lietuvos Rytas to third place.

He may not be a finished product, but I think it is safe to say he is pretty good.

The buyout is already determined, there is a set amount and that will not, nor has, changed. I don't think there is one Raptor fan that thinks JV is going to come in and put up 20 and 10 playing 35 minutes a night. I think getting 20 plus minutes and working on consistency is what we all expect.

As for you assessment of his skills and potential, to say he is not that good yet confuses me.

On December 27, 2011 Jonas Valančiūnas was named Lithuania Basketball Player Of The Year.
On February 13, 2012 Jonas Valančiūnas was named FIBA European Young Player of the Year. He also became that month's MVP in the VTB United League.
On March 3, 2012, Valančiūnas participated in the LKL All-Star game. He led his team to victory, scoring 25 points including one three-pointer, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists. He won the MVP award once again.
In April, Valančiūnas won the Eurocup Rising Star award and was named in the All-Eurocup squad. He averaged 10.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg and 1.6 bpg while shooting 63.4% from the field, leading Lietuvos Rytas to third place.

He may not be a finished product, but I think it is safe to say he is pretty good.

dude i live here - i know the actual situation.

"On December 27, 2011 Jonas Valančiūnas was named Lithuania Basketball Player Of The Year"

stupid retarded thing - everyone laughed at this. it's pretty much the hype put out by media and young girls that find him sexy that led to this reward. i can name you at least 10 LT players that deserved this reward far more than him.

"On March 3, 2012, Valančiūnas participated in the LKL All-Star game. He led his team to victory, scoring 25 points including one three-pointer, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists. He won the MVP award once again."

when did all-star games become serious? the game was a complete show with no defense.

"On February 13, 2012 Jonas Valančiūnas was named FIBA European Young Player of the Year. He also became that month's MVP in the VTB United League." and "In April, Valančiūnas won the Eurocup Rising Star award and was named in the All-Eurocup squad. He averaged 10.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg and 1.6 bpg while shooting 63.4% from the field, leading Lietuvos Rytas to third place."

awards praising his potential. however, when it comes to serious games - JV is nowhere to be found. it's easy to get decent stats when you play in a very bad team - LRytas was a horrible team this year. someone has to get those balls and some points. the problem is not that he has 10/7 stats. the problem is that in such a bad team he didn't managed to be 20/10.

i'm telling you - you might be up for a big dissapointment - cause i see the actual situation first hand and from what i see JV is not that good. i hope he becomes a GREAT player - but i wouldn't count on it.

"On December 27, 2011 Jonas Valančiūnas was named Lithuania Basketball Player Of The Year"

stupid retarded thing - everyone laughed at this. it's pretty much the hype put out by media and young girls that find him sexy that led to this reward. i can name you at least 10 LT players that deserved this reward far more than him.

"On March 3, 2012, Valančiūnas participated in the LKL All-Star game. He led his team to victory, scoring 25 points including one three-pointer, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists. He won the MVP award once again."

when did all-star games become serious? the game was a complete show with no defense.

"On February 13, 2012 Jonas Valančiūnas was named FIBA European Young Player of the Year. He also became that month's MVP in the VTB United League." and "In April, Valančiūnas won the Eurocup Rising Star award and was named in the All-Eurocup squad. He averaged 10.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg and 1.6 bpg while shooting 63.4% from the field, leading Lietuvos Rytas to third place."

awards praising his potential. however, when it comes to serious games - JV is nowhere to be found. it's easy to get decent stats when you play in a very bad team - LRytas was a horrible team this year. someone has to get those balls and some points. the problem is not that he has 10/7 stats. the problem is that in such a bad team he didn't managed to be 20/10.

i'm telling you - you might be up for a big dissapointment - cause i see the actual situation first hand and from what i see JV is not that good. i hope he becomes a GREAT player - but i wouldn't count on it.

Did JV tap your sister, mother, or aunt? This is some serious hate going on.

JV is 19 years old going against grown MEN. Despite this he still held his own. Lets put Anthony Davis out there against grown men and see how he does - not saying Davis is an inferior talent, saying that Davis played against inferior competition.

Instead of throwing out vague statements like, "I can name you 10 LT players that deserved this reward far more than him." Well, how about naming them? Enlighten some ignorant NBA and Raptors fans, please.

As for LRytas, for such a crap team, they managed to compete very well in all the leagues they played. By this reasoning, anyone who does not finish 1st is garbage. In LKL they finished second at 18-4. In the EuroCup they finished 3rd out of 24 teams. In VTB they went 15-8. In the BBL they went 16-2.

Were they better than Zalgris? No. Were they a horrible team? Hardly.

Replying with "dude I live here - I know the actual situation" is is an empty statement intended to give a perceived advantage to the discussion when it actually means little when not backed by anything other than opinions.

Anyone expecting 20/10 from JV is delusional. 8-9 and 6-7 seems very reasonable given his shooting percentages and constant effort. Just by trying on every possession he is going to beat half the big men in the NBA, in my opinion.

He's a Zalgiris fan, Rytas is a rival team, so some of the fans critique the oposing team and its players rather unfairly, I think that is the case in this situation.

i'm not a zalgiris fan. never was. i actually always sympathized with LRytas cause they were underdogs most of the time. however, i'm not a fan regarding any b-ball team. i'm all for good b-ball, that's all. i'm not even a fan of my national team. i actually more interested in NBA than in europe b-ball.

and no i have no hatred towards valanciunas. the only thing i see from you guys are too much expectations. i wish him to become a great basketball player, but right now i just don't see any grounds for this hype. he didn't managed to become a real leader of LRytas (which had a bad team this year) and he didn't dominate any of decent opponents in europe after the junior championships.

all i'm saying - do not expect too much from JV - he needs to improve A LOT - to become a decent player in NBA - not even talking about becoming a great player in NBA

again Darko Milicic example - the first time i saw that guy - i tought he gonna be 1 of the best centers ever. at JV age - Darko looked far better - but he didn't lived up to expectations at all. when you guys say that JV can have 10/10 stats the first year - it's seems way too optimistic for me

Nilanka wrote:

Considering that virtually ALL NBA scouts/insiders have nothing but positive things to say about Valanciunas, I'm pretty sure Skaloon is talking out of his/her ass.

considering that these NBA experts called him the best player in Europe - better than Kirilenko (for example) at this particular moment - which he clearly in no way is - i really doubt the sincerity of these experts.

when you guys say that JV can have 10/10 stats the first year - it's seems way too optimistic for me

Find me ONE person, who said JV was going to average a Double-double as a rookie. Do it.

Until then, you're arguments are falling on deaf ears.

Of COURSE he has alot of improving to do before he's a great NBA player.
He's 19!! And he's not even IN the NBA yet!

But you are, in fact, in the minority with your opinion in terms of the type of player he can become.
Down the line, I see ZERO reason that shows me he CAN'T be a great player in the NBA.
Whether or not he does, I have no idea. But the evidence proves he's a special player.

Darko and JV play two completely different games.
Darko was more finesse, no brawn. Like MANY failed European Centers.
JV is mostly Brawn, with a little finesse to his game. Like MANY successful Centers.

NBA scouts know more than you bro. Its their job they get payed a shit ton of money to track and analyze players. I'd listen to them over you

yes they do know more - FAR more. but what they say - it's not sincere. my example, of naming Valanciunas the best basketball player in europe this year - shows how sincere NBA scouts are - when they make public statements

find me one person, who said jv was going to average a double-double as a rookie. Do it.

Until then, you're arguments are falling on deaf ears.

Of course he has alot of improving to do before he's a great nba player.
He's 19!! And he's not even in the nba yet!

this:

thead wrote:

i don't think he is as much of a project as people are saying. His footwork is great he has an assortment of post moves, baby hook up and under, turn around jump shot. He is fantastic at creating a pocket of space. He may get called in the nba for hooking, all though he uses his elbows instead of his whole arm. He looks comfortable shooting from 10-15ft, isn't afraid of contact. I think his curve is going to be more about getting stronger and learning the tricks of the nba game. Alabi is a project...bigv is a contributor in his first year, maybe not 20/10 but i see 10/10 and 2 blocks as doable. Also he is already above 80% from the free throw line which if you are a prolific offensive rebounder is a fantastic combination to have. Get used to hearing hoop and harm or and1 quite a bit.